‘Married at First Sight’ Season 12: Virginia Coombs Reveals Her New Sexual Orientation as She Departs Her ‘Straight’ and ‘Christian’ Lifestyle
Married at First Sight star Virginia Coombs is embracing who she is — sexually, religiously, and politically. Virginia, who starred on MAFS Season 12 with Eric Lake, recently took to Instagram to recap her identity from age 24 to now, age 29. The end of the post revealed that Virginia now identifies as pansexual. Here’s a look back at her journey on Married at First Sight, where she ended up, and what she had to say on Instagram. Plus, a glimpse at other reality stars who have come out as pansexual.
A recap of Virginia Coombs’ rocky journey with Erik Lake on ‘Married at First Sight’
Virginia was a 26-year-old account coordinator when she was paired with Erik, a 34-year-old pilot, on MAFS. At first, the two seemed to have chemistry and a mutual desire to find their forever love. However, the strangers quickly realized they had several differences to work through.
They clashed over their political views, as Erik was more conservative while Virginia was more liberal. Virginia and Erik also fought extensively over Virginia’s partying with other guys, leading some fans to wonder if she was ready for marriage in the first place. They also argued about having kids. Throughout the season, Erik repeatedly told Virginia he was “done” with their marriage.
In July 2021, Virginia and Erik announced their divorce after being unable to reconcile their differences. The moment they decided to divorce played out on Married at First Sight: Couples’ Cam a few months later.
“I do care about you and I care about this, but nothing is really progressing or moving in a healthy manner and it seems like nothing else has worked,” Erik told Virginia, as People reported. “And this shouldn’t be as difficult as it is. It should be easy most of the time. I mean, it really should.”
Virginia Coombs revealed she’s pansexual in a recent Instagram post
Following the divorce, Virginia continued to stay positive and shared glimpses of her life on social media. In a recent Instagram post, she joked about how she has “slid to the left” more and more each year. She started as a straight, conservative member of the Church of Christ and then developed more liberal views as she explored her sexuality and other religious beliefs. Today, Virginia is a “pansexual liberal” who believes in “karma.”
“Debated posting this on here because some of you Married at First Sight ‘fans’ can be extremely brutal. But this is who I am and I finally feel empowered to live my true authentic life despite how others may feel about it,” she captioned the post. “I am happy to answer sincere questions in the comments. Hate speech will be deleted and blocked. Love who you love and be a good person … that’s really all there is to it.”
In a comment, Virginia went into detail about what being pansexual means to her.
“For me, gender has never been a qualifying factor in my attraction to someone. It is about the person, not the gender. Which is why I ‘label’ myself as pansexual which is essentially a category of bisexual. For example, if I was interested in dating someone and they told me they were trans or non-binary, that would not change my level of interest in them romantically,” she wrote.
Other reality stars who have come out as pansexual
In recent years, a handful of other reality stars have revealed their pansexuality. 1000-lb Sisters star Tammy Slaton came out as pansexual to her then-boyfriend, Jerry Sykes, in 2021. I Am Jazz star Jazz Jennings is also openly pansexual. In 2021, Dance Moms star JoJo Siwa said she was “technically pansexual.” We love to see it!
Stay tuned to Showbiz Cheat Sheet for more updates on Virginia Coombs and other Married at First Sight stars. MAFS Season 16 is currently airing new episodes every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
